We have a very special show this week – your host will be me, Chad Weinstein, and our guest is Chris Cebollero, author of the new book Ultimate Success: Strategic Leadership Excellence, which has reached bestseller status on Amazon.

We discuss Chris’ new book, the lessons within it, and why continuous development is critical to leadership success.

On today’s podcast:

What motivated Chris to write this book?

The heroes that Chris has learned from as a leader

What were the surprises that came out of writing this book?

What can you expect from the book?

How should readers use Ultimate Success for their development?

Where to purchase Ultimate Success

Links:

Ultimate Success on Amazon

What motivated Chris to write this book?

Chris Cebollero’s first book, Ultimate Leadership: 10 Rules for Success, was about the rules he had to come up with through his leadership career that really grew from the lessons learned from his professional successes and failures.

In the new book, Ultimate Success, Chris set out to give the reader the skills and knowledge that they would need to develop into an ultimate success as a leader.

Are you born to be a leader or are you made to be a leader? Chris believes the answer is ‘yes.’ Leaders are born, but as we grow we are able to develop our leadership acumen – so both are true.

Chris wrote the book to act not only as a foundation but also as a resource that leaders can reference throughout their careers to continually help them to develop. So it is designed to be of value to seasoned leaders as well as those that are stepping into leadership positions for the first time.

Leadership is both an art and a science. You’ve got to know the science before you can paint the picture of success.
-Chris Cebollero

Especially true for new leaders. But also very relevant for experienced leaders as Chris is setting out his interpretation of the science through this book which will encourage you to look at leadership practices in a new way. It provides an opportunity to question and clarify your thinking.

The heroes that Chris has learned from as a leader

John Maxwell is a stand out example for Chris. When you think you know about leadership and you sit in front of John, says Chris, you realise how much you don’t know about leadership.

Chris is also inspired by leaders through history that went through tragedy and came out successful. Winston Churchill, Harry S Truman, John F Kennedy, for example. People that had to go through and deal with extreme adversity and come through successfully.

Coming from the public service realm, Chris was mentored by leaders in his chain of command who seemed to have all the answers. When he would come to them as a young paramedic or young supervisor, nervous and concerned at how to handle situations, it seemed that they always knew what to do to deal with a given problem. People like Ernie Rodriguez and Randy McCargar, and Jennifer Cordia that really impacted Chris’ career early on.

Another hero was his first boss when he left the military: Don Hopkins. Don was a rural hospital president who really set Chris on the path into the private sector with the tools of how to talk and interact with people in the proper manner. Don moved Chris’ mindset from a military one to a civilian one.

What were the surprises that came out of writing this book?

What surprised Chris was that as he was putting his thoughts and experiences down on paper, it brought him back to not only what he had to learn in the early stages of his career, but that he continued to enhance those learnings throughout his career with a huge amount of those experiences that go into honing your craft.

Going back through the stories and experiences that molded his career brought back some surprising emotions, but also reminded him of just how much you learn and develop through your life.

Chris has laid bare some of these experiences openly in the book as well as sharing the successes of those around him.

What can you expect from the book?

Ultimate Success is not so much a how-to, but rather a framework of tools based on the stories and experiences that he shares that the reader can fill in to develop their own success patterns.

At some points, it acts as an overview of a given topic – communication for example – and at others it goes more in-depth with clear takeaways and advice – like the section on presentation skills in both formal and informal situations.

It’s important to remember that as a leader you’re on stage as soon as you leave the house.

Every time you leave the house, it acts 1, scene 1, action!

– Don Lundy

Your work force is always watching every move you make – whether that be from a position of trying to emulate what you’re doing or from a position of noting your errors and failures and questioning your ability as a leader.

The book gives you the advice you need to put yourself in the best possible position to portray a positive public image and to ensure that when you join a team, the moral, collective attitude and performance goes up.

Leadership is not a noun. It’s not a position or an achievement. It’s an action – and you need to be able to develop that action every day to make sure your workforce can be the very best that they can be.

How should readers use Ultimate Success for their development?

This is a book you can read as a leader, get the foundational knowledge out of it and then share that knowledge with your workforce. This could be in the format of a discussion around one of the chapters in a weekly meeting, covering a particular topic and sharing best practices in a mastermind setting.

It can also be used as a reference when needed.

It’s important to remember that even as experienced leaders, we have to develop continuously or we’re establishing a status quo instead of moving forward. The book offers an opportunity to questions ourselves and continue to hone our craft.

Chris also provides guidance and coaching to individuals and leadership teams to help them implement these best practices within their careers and organisations. By assessing and determining core strengths and areas of weakness, Chris can provide actionable advice to help you address areas of your leadership practice to drive towards ultimate success.

If you’re looking to grow your professional development, you can find Ultimate Success on Amazon.